


But I Got Only What I Could Take

by hauntedlittledoll



Series: Tumblr Fic War [7]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Robins Club, Batman Reborn Era, Dick Grayson is Batman, Gen, Hunger Games References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 08:04:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedlittledoll/pseuds/hauntedlittledoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymous Prompt: "Jason & Damian vs Dick & Tim"  (AKA: Bad!Batman vs. Good!Batman)</p>
            </blockquote>





	But I Got Only What I Could Take

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Heather Dale's song: "Prodigal Son."
> 
> The book Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is mentioned.

Jason was the bad Batman, and he was okay with that.  The monsters that he put down didn’t come back to hurt anyone ever again.

Ad if he was the reason that Commissioner Gordon no longer sent up the Bat Signal … if he was the reason that Dickie-bird and the Replacement had to work a little harder to keep ahead of the criminal element … well, it didn’t keep Jason up at night.

 _That_ would be the crime-fighting, the thrill-seeking, the casual trolling, and the religious safe-guarding of his sidekicks’ safety.

Good!Batman had Robin and Batgirl.

Bad!Batman had Red Robin and Scarlet.

To be honest, Jason’s had custody of Talia’s kid for a couple years now.  The title is new.  The brat is not.  Damian was too stubborn to follow the path his Mother set for him, and like most things that Talia chose not to handle personally, the kid had rapidly become Jason’s problem.

What the heck—it was a great way to needle Bruce before the original Batman went off and died for the Cause.

Sure, it had taken a little while to work everything out between Jason and Damian.  They beat the crap out of each other a few dozen times, but eventually they sorted out a working hierarchy.

Jason’s the boss, but there was next to nothing he’d deny the kid if Damian asked nicely.  It worked for them, and Jason had grown almost fond of the brat these days.

Dick could keep the Replacement.  The both of them were prone to independent fieldwork, frequent capture, relationship drama, and the questionable favour of dumb luck.

It was a good night when the official Batman and Robin didn’t lose track of each other; Batgirl was frequently called upon to save both their asses.

The same couldn’t be said for the bad Bats.  Jason watched his homicidal chick like a hawk.  Ninja training or no, Damian was only ten years old, and there would be no repeat of the warehouse.

The first time that the Joker ever laid eyes on the kid, Jason riddled the clown with holes on principle.  Then he let Damian take a crowbar to the dying villain.

Dick might have played the Joker’s game in the search for Bruce, but Jason knew better.  The clown’s punchline was never in a Bat’s favour.  When Damian had had his fun and the Joker was definitely dead, they cut off his head for good measure and left the whole mess gift-wrapped for the Commissioner as a gesture of good will.

Gordon put them on _America’s Most Wanted_ in return.

To-may-to.  To-mah-to.

It all comes out red in the end, and Jason had an affinity for all things red.  It marked the identity stolen from his murderer.  It’s place of honour in the hand-me-down identity labeled the kid as Jason’s for all of Gotham.

The colour red marked Sasha, the damaged teenager that Jason rescued from the hospital on a whim.  It was in the blood on her hands, and the dye in her hair, and Jason didn’t even pretend to argue with the brat when Damian decided to keep her.

Like the near-silent Batgirl, Scarlet Lady had a private mission.  Armed with their training, stolen gear, and a real talent at manipulating social media, Sasha was a natural vigilante.  Her mostly blood-free solo work was beautiful in its own way.

But she still suited up with Jason and Damian.  She was under the bad Batman’s protection, and Jason took the matter of his protection very, _very_ seriously.

It was a matter of honour … and not getting a bunch of kids killed along the way.

So Jason played big brother and responsible guardian when he wasn’t playing Bad!Batman.  Eventually, they achieved a kind of domesticity over time.  Sasha helped Jason plan the big fights, campaigned for him in the hearts and inboxes of Gothamites, and even babysat Damian without a word of complaint.

Damian liked her, allowed the redhead familiarities that would have cost anyone else a hand.  Even now, the pint-sized assassin was curled up cat-like with his head in her lap as she read “The Hunger Games” aloud.

And with the children currently occupied with the bloodthirst of Panem, Jason took the opportunity to get the paperwork out of the way.

There was only one set of figures that mattered to Jason Todd, and it was a digital tally viewed around the world.  It was the score he kept whenever Dick got a little too preachy, Batgirl a little too close, or the Replacement took another suicide mission.  The number of villains that Dick’s incarcerated and the number that Jason’s incapacitated.

Every day, those numbers got a little bit closer.  Every night was a little bit safer in Gotham.

Good!Batman vs. Bad!Batman

May the best Bat win.


End file.
